Tag: clothing clean

Through better care of our clothing we can reduce the garments overall environmental impact, save money and make our favourite clothing pieces last longer. Here are 7 easy tips on how to make your clothing care more sustainable.

1. Wash less and in bulk

With today’s technological advancements it has never been easier to launder clothing so there’s a tendency to wash clothes after just 1 wear and in smaller, frequent washes. However this negatively impacts the environment so unless your clothes are visibly dirty or smelly, avoid washing your clothes too often to help reduce water wastage and energy consumption. Try to only wash when you can do a full load but remember not to overfill the machine as it can wear it.

2. Consider washing in cold water or low temperature when possible

During machine washes most of the electricity goes towards heating the water. Cold water washing consumes the least amount of energy compared with high heat washes and a good option if your clothes aren’t visibly soiled and need more of a freshen up. Even lowering the temperature from 60 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees’ Celsius can help save nearly half of the energy for the wash.

3. Invest in eco friendly washing machine and laundry products

Most washing machines have a setting for Economy wash however there are also more technological advanced ones that have been specifically designed to be more sustainable especially if your existing machine regularly consumes a high amount of electricity. Eco-friendly detergent is better for the environment while still making sure your clothes come out clean and fresh.

4. Air dry rather than using a tumble dryer

Avoid using tumble dryers when possible to lower the electricity usage and instead focus on air drying.

5. Find an eco-friendly dry cleaning service

Most dry cleaning methods can have harmful effects on the environment. If you have to dry clean try to find a place that is environmentally conscious.

6. Learn more on how to take better care of different fabrics to avoid damage

Usually labels should provide instructions on the best way to take care of that piece of clothing to avoid damage, however you can also find some extra information online on how to best wash different types of clothing, fabrics and prints to ensure your clothes last longer.

7. Fix and donate

To avoid clothing ending up on landfills, if a clothing piece is damaged see if it can be fixed or repurposed for something else. Donate items that you won’t be re-wearing.